This was literally me two years ago.
As a new developer, nothing intimidated me more than opening VS Code to see dozens of files scattered across mysterious folders. I'd quickly collapse the file tree, praying I wouldn't need to touch anything outside the one file I was working on.
Sound familiar?
What I learned:
1. Everyone feels this way at first
Even senior developers get overwhelmed when joining complex projects. It's not just you - it's part of the journey.
2. There is no perfect folder structure
But some principles make your code more navigable:
- Group by feature, not file type
- Keep related code close together
- Be consistent with your naming conventions
3. Start simple
For Node.js projects, I recommend:
project/
├── src/
│ ├── routes/
│ ├── controllers/
│ ├── models/
│ └── utils/
├── tests/
├── config/
└── package.json
4. Grow organically
As your project evolves, let your folder structure evolve too. Don't overengineer from day one.
5. Document your decisions
Add a README explaining your organization choices to help future you (and teammates).
The folder structure that terrified me two years ago is now something I build with confidence. That's why I'm building a community for developers who want to level up their project organization skills.
Let's discuss!
If you've ever collapsed a folder tree out of fear, you're not alone. What's your biggest folder organization challenge? I'm building a community where we tackle these challenges together.